The Plan of Attack - Augusta National

When Trevor Immelman pitched up in Augusta for what would be his sixth appearance in the Masters Tournament, it is safe to say that his presence failed to attract too much in the way of media attention. Which is hardly surprising. Only five months on from an operation to remove a happily benign tennis ball-sized growth from his diaphragm and with his recent form no better than mildly promising, the now 29-year old South African was, as the Americans like to say, travelling ‘under the radar.’

“Going through what I did health-wise definitely lowered my expectations,” he reflects. “I got to Augusta and resolved just to enjoy it. I told my family I was there to have fun, which I did. It’s always easier to do that when you play well though. But I definitely arrived putting less pressure on myself.”

By Saturday evening Immelman’s low-key approach was working so successfully that he had himself a two-shot lead, his 11 under par aggregate two shots better than Brandt Snedeker.

“The whole week I was in a good space mentally,” he says. “I was really focused on what I wanted to do. And my20acceptance of shots was as good as it has ever been. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and tend to get upset after a poor shot. But that week I let the bad ones flow off me. I just moved on to the next shot.”

That philosophy also proved useful in the final round. In cold and blustery conditions, Immelman’s closing 75 was good enough to clinch victory by three clear shots from Tiger Woods. It was a day for patience.

“Waking up and looking outside and seeing it was windy told me right away it was going to be tough,” he continues. “And that was confirmed on the range. Walking to the first tee was a nerve-wracking experience too. The feeling I had inside on that first tee-shot was crazy.

“The media overplayed how dull the last day was. I disagree. After 54 holes I was 11 under par. And there were maybe ten guys in red figures. In my experience of majors, that doesn’t happen often.

“Sunday was so difficult we were all trying just to survive. We weren’t going out to make birdies; it was all about keeping your head above water. The course played that tough because of the wind. There was hardly any margin for error. So that’s why it got a little out of hand.

“There has been a lot of debate over whether or not the course should go back to what it was. I’m not sure about that, but I think they should have more options when it comes to the tees. That way there would be some flexibility if the wind does really blow.”

Still, whatever the conditions and the rights and wrongs of the course set up, Immelman clearly coped best. Here, in his own words, is how he went about playing each hole. - John Huggan

1st (Tea Olive), 445yds, par 4: Pushing the tee back 25 yards brings the fairway bunker on the right more into play. Big though it already was, that bunker is now 15 yards longer. No need to alter the plateau green - it is one of the most treacherous on the entire course.

When I stand on the tee, it’s hard to see anything other than the big bunker on the right.The drive is all about steering well clear,missing the sand and finding the left side of the fairway. From there, depending on the wind strength, it is anything from an 8-iron to a 5-iron to a very undulating green. You can’t miss it left; that’s dead. So I always err to the right side.Hitting the green – and keeping the ball on the green – is success. I’m always happy with a par four and a nice steady start.

2nd (Pink Dogwood), 575yds, par 5: Lengthened a few years ago, fairway woods or long irons are now needed for the second shot and the two bunkers short of the slender green consequently see a lot more action. Short is better than long, though, because the green tilts from back to front. Nick Faldo once holed a 100-foot eagle putt here.

With the new tee being farther back, the tee shot is actually a bit more straightforward. I aim at the bunker up the right hand side and just try to rip it.Only very rarely can you reach the sand.A good drive makes reaching the green a possibility.When the pin is on the right side of what is a huge putting surface I play to the left;when the hole is cut on the left of the green I like to favour the right side. Either way, I’m going to leave myself some room if I do come up short.This is a great birdie opportunity.

3rd (Flowering Peach), 350yds, par 4: The approach is the testing shot here. It is to a pear-shaped green where anything short can spin down a steep bank. Plays hardest when the flag is placed in the narrow neck on the front left.

There are two ways to play this hole because of the huge dip in front of what is a very shallow, elevated putting surface that also drops off sharply at the rear.When the pin is in the front, I lay back with a 4-iron or 3-iron off the tee.That leaves a full wedge to the green.When the cup is cut on the back right I hit driver off the tee. I can carry the bunkers about 280-yards out and get all the way down into the dip. From there it is only a 60-70 yard pitch.

4th (Flowering Crab Apple), 205yds, par 3: Longest of the par threes. Par is always a good score even when the tee is moved forward for a pin position just over the front bunkers. The tiered green always claims its fair share of victims.

Even if it does play slightly downhill, this is one of the most difficult holes on the course, especially from the back tee.At its longest it is maybe 250-yards – and into any sort of breeze that can be a 3- wood.All that is required is a good, solid, straight shot,one that carries all the way to the green.The big bunker in front pretty much eliminates any possibility of running the ball up to the flag., so it has to be air-mailed. From the front tee things are a bit easier and I usually hit something in the region of a 4- or 5-iron from down there.But par is always a good score no matter what.

5th (Magnolia), 435yds, par 4: Jack Nicklaus holed his approach here twice in three days in 1995, and Colin Montgomerie also had an eagle two years ago - but the sloping green can be vicious if you are even slightly awry with your second shot.

This is a much underrated hole but also one of the trickiest on the course. Anywhere on the fairway is good off the tee, but up the right side is a little better than anything left. If you go too far left you run the risk of finding one of these fairway bunkers, and you can’t see all of the green for the approach. The second shot has to be very precise; the landing area is probably only about three or four yards wide.Anything that pitches even a little short runs back off the green.And too much club inevitably sees you in the back bunker.Neither scenario is good.

6th (Juniper), 180yds, par 3: Jose Maria Olazabal lost by one in 1991 after taking seven here in the second round. There is a huge tier in the green, and only the most precise shot can hope to get close to the flag when it is on the ledge back right.

Because it plays so severely downhill, this hole is all about picking the right club for the tee-shot, especially when the pin is placed back right on what isn’t exactly a huge shelf.When the flag is up there anything left will kick away, back down the big slope. I’ve seen people four and five-putt from down there. It really is very severe.Get the teeshot – typically anything from an 8-iron to a 5- iron – right however and a shortish birdie putt is the likely result.

One of the reasons crowds flock to this hole is that from the bank in front of the tee (pictured far right) you get a terrific panoramic view of the 16th green. From the tee we hit right over their heads without seeing them.This hole will throw up a wide range of scores here, everything from birdies to triple bogeys.

7th (Pampas), 410yds, par 4: Suddenly far more testing. The tee has gone back 45 yards, and most players will switch from irons to woods. Hitting it straight down the avenue of trees is imperative so you can control the approach to a narrow green sloping from back to front and surrounded by five bunkers.

A good straight tee-shot is an absolute must here, especially as we now have to hit a driver or 3-wood from the new back tee. Even after a good drive I’m normally hitting anything from a 7- iron to a wedge to what is one ofAugusta National’s most difficult greens (it was never really designed to receive anything more than a short iron). It is so shallow you just have to hit the right club. Precision is everything. In the back bunker is the worst spot – you are dead there – and those who do miss the fairway often as not aim for the front bunker and try to save par from there.

8th (Yellow Jasmine), 570yds, par 5: Twenty yards longer and, playing uphill, should therefore be unreachable to all but a few. The fairway bunker on the right has been reshaped and nearly doubled in size. The safe second shot is out right.

Off the tee my sole aim is keeping the ball out of the big bunker up the right side.A really good hit leaves an outside chance of hooking the second shot around the corner and onto the green. If that isn’t possible, I lay up out to the right and leave myself a straight pitch up the green.Anything else is really too risky. If you finish up short and left of the green, the next shot can be blind, behind a huge bank on that side.Whatever, like everyone else, I’m always looking for a birdie here.

9th (Carolina Cherry), 460yds, par 4: With the tee back 30 yards expect this to play much harder, with approaches being played off a downslope. The green tilts from back to front again, and it is possible to roll right off the green 50 yards or more down the slope in front.

Yet again, a good straight hit is called for off the tee.The ideal line is just to the right of the trees up the left had side.That way I can get my ball to scoot down the hill a bit more.Wherever the ball finishes, however, the approach is never easy off a slight downhill lie to a green high above.Anywhere right tends to be okay for the approach; the bunkers are dead.The real key is getting the distance right.The green has three levels so it is important to be on the correct one.

10th (Camellia), 495yds, par 4: Still classified as a par four despite another 10 yards having been added. The moving of the tee five yards left is more interesting, making it more of a dogleg and more important to move the ball right to left to get the maximum run downhill.

Another severely downhill hole, the ideal shot from the tee is a hard draw with a driver or a 3-wood. It is almost impossible to hook this shot too much. From the bottom of the hill, the approach for me is typically between a 7-iron and a 5-iron. It has to be a really accurate shot too.The bunkers on the right are certainly no bargain.And anything pulled left tends to kick down the slope,well away from the green, which in my experience is always a lot faster than it looks.All in all, a tricky hole.Welcome to the back nine!

11th (White Dogwood), 505yds, par 4: The start of Amen Corner, where Nick Faldo won his two play-offs and Larry Mize chipped in to beat Greg Norman in 1987. The tee has gone back 35 yards and five yards right. Still a par four and, with water short and left, might well be the hardest hole of all.

Since this hole has been extended it has gone from merely difficult to being a real brute.The ideal line off the tee is now down the left side, where it used to be down the right.Only a solid hit will do, this hole being so long.The green is about 50 yards deep, so the second shot can be anything from a hybrid to a 7-iron. Left in the pond is obviously no good, but missing right is no bargain either.You just have to suck it up and hit the correct shot.A tough, tough hole.

12th (Golden Bell), 155yds, par 3: The best-known par three in golf. It is the shortest of the four short holes, but the wind swirls and club selection is all-important. Woods had a triple bogey in the first round in 2000 and bogeys in the first two rounds last year, but that doesn't even compare to Tom Weiskopf's 13 in 1980.

Not only do you have to pick the right club on this wonderful and oh-so dangerous par-3, you have to pick the right time to hit.Because the breeze swirls about so much, a change in direction or drop in the wind can instantly make a huge difference. If it is dead calm I am more aggressive; I know I can control my distance.But otherwise I play for the middle of the green like almost everyone else. Even then, I’m hitting and hoping that the wind is helping me find the green. I’ll take par here almost any time.

13th (Azalea), 510yds, par 5: Moving the tee back 35 yards will result in much longer second shots at this sharp dogleg left which players hope to birdie or eagle but can equally wreck a scorecard. Rae's Creek runs down the left and then in front of the green.

This is one of the great holes anywhere in the world.The only way I can think about reaching the green in two is if I hook my tee-shot far enough round the corner and get a kick and some run on. If I haven’t done that, I always lay up short of the creek to wedge range.Which isn’t as easy as it sounds.You have to be in the correct spot to attack the flag position. If the flag is front right you have to be left of centre; if the hole is cut to the rear or left, I tend to play more up the right side.

14th (Chinese Fir), 440yds, par 4: No bunkers, but joint course record-holder Nick Price still managed to take eight here in 1993. Even with the tee back 35 yards the green remains the big headache, and the temptation to attack the flag often has to be resisted.

Another hole that has been lengthened, the perfect drive now is almost straight.Before, you had to hit at least a bit of a draw to keep the ball out of the trees up the right side.The green is undulating and very wide, so there’s a lot to aim at.But it’s all about position and giving yourself a chance of a putt.When the pin is on the left you simply can’t afford to miss on that side; you have no chance to save par.The green slopes very severely from left-to-right. So when the pin is on the right I tend to aim for the middle of the green and let the ball feed down to the hole.This is a tough green to chip up to, so long is always better than short for the approach.

15th (Firethorn), 530yds, par 5: Mounds on the right were taken out a few years ago and instead a group of tall trees are positioned to penalise any pushed drive. Most players will still go for the green in two, but there is water in front. Gene Sarazen's albatross in the second Masters was known as "the shot heard around the world".

Now much longer than it was before the course changes, it isn’t easy to reach this green in two shots any more.Only the longest hitters will be doing that.The new tee forces you to aim more to the left, which leaves you behind a strand of pine trees. I won’t consider going for the green over the pond unless I have a long iron or a hybrid in my hands.Otherwise, I lay up.But I’m not sure that qualifies as ‘playing safe’ exactly.The pitch over the pond is the toughest wedge shot in golf.Give me par and get me out of there!

16th (Redbud), 170yds, par 3: The tee shot is over water, but merely finding dry land is not sufficient. The green slants significantly from right to left, making a pin on the right the toughest. Semi-circular putts are a common occurrence.

The toughest pin on this famous green is when the hole is cut front right.You only have two or three yards to work with at that point.Back right is easier. Even if the ball runs down the steep right-to-left slope you have maybe a 35-footer straight back up the hill.Not too difficult.The most fun comes when the pin is on the left side, near the bunker you can just see in the photo above.Then I can be aggressive.Anything hit down the right centre of the putting surface will land and feed down towards the hole. I can hear the roars now!The smaller image here is the view of the 16th green you get leaving the 6th tee – so no excuses for not knowing exactly where the pin is.

17th (Nandina), 440yds, par 4: Former President Eisenhower, a club member, hit the huge pine tree down the left so often he wanted it removed. Instead it was named after him. Because the hole runs alongside the 15th, there are trees on the right now as well. Sandy Lyle and Darren Clarke are among 14 to take a seven here.

This hole is a lot harder – and longer – than it once was. A nice high drive is required to carry Eisenhower’s tree up there on the left side. It better be straight too. This fairway is so narrow now, the new trees coming in on the right. I’ve hit anything from 5-irons to wedges into this green, which is split into sections, left and right, by a ridge down the middle. When the pin is on the right it can be tricky and it gets oh-so-fast there on a Sunday; the ball tends to run off down the slope. Anything left allows me to be more aggressive and look for a birdie.

18th (Holly), 465yds, par 4: The biggest change in recent years. A new tee 60 yards back doubles the difficulty of the drive. The bunkers on the left are 10bigger than when Sandy Lyle hit his seven-iron from sand to win in 1988, and the green has been expanded to create a new pin placing back right. If Woods wins with a birdie this time he will have earned his money.

The landing area is very intimidating here. It feels like playing up a narrow funnel.My line off the tee is the left hand bunker, the ball ‘bleeding’ to the right into the middle of the fairway. I’d like to start the ball even more to the left but I can’t; the trees come into play too much on that side. So a hard ‘slider’ from left-to-right is the ideal play.The second shot is longer than it actually appears on television – and much more uphill, as this photo (left) suggests.The green is as much as 15 yards above the point where a good drive typically finishes, so getting the club right is the key.